


What If Human

by stellations



Series: What If Three Times [4]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 01:17:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5689054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellations/pseuds/stellations
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What If Jenna had never been turned at all and someday it might actually get an ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Klaus

Of all the times Jenna had been to Alaric's apartment, this was by far the least enjoyable. She didn't like the stale feeling she was getting from the place and Damon's hesitance to touch the door - vampire or no - didn't really help. She shot him a look and knocked on the door, realizing where her place in this plan had come. She was able to cross the threshold where he couldn't. Also, her voice would be less threatening than his, should Klaus actually be there.

"Ric? Are you here?"

Her nerves hammered through her veins. Could Damon really do anything if Klaus _was_ still in there?

Damon seemed disinterested in waiting, so he casually glanced around to be sure no one was nearby. Reaching for the doorknob, he just as casually broke the lock so the door swung open when Jenna pushed it. This revealed a young woman who looked so closely like Elena that Jenna gasped softly.

"Thank God," Katherine sighed.

"Wow… she really does look exactly like Elena," Jenna murmured, not really keen on moving any closer.

"Yep. Thought you might be dead," Damon commented to Katherine.

"Unfortunately not," the other vampire replied dryly. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to see you," Damon answered, glancing back at Jenna. "If you're worried, you can leave. It won't be the first time I've had to walk home."

Jenna paused, looking from one vampire to the other. "Right. I'll see you back at the house." She let her eyes rest on Katherine once more before she headed out to the car again. Jenna wasn't even sure how to react to any of this anymore, especially where Katherine and Elena were concerned. She sighed to herself as she pulled out of the parking lot, not really feeling up to going straight back yet. When Stefan had come to pick her up, she'd left part of her thesis research in her room; she clearly remembered discovering a huge portion of her notes missing. Maybe she could go back to get them, even if she did risk running into John again. Pursing her lips tightly together, she turned the car in the direction of the house she had slowly come to consider hers instead of her sister and brother-in-law's. Funny how time would change things...

John was apparently gone when she got there and she was quite glad for that. She didn't want to deal with him today, too. Still, something didn't feel right as she entered the house, so she called Stefan, figuring he'd be done with Bonnie and Jeremy by now.

"Jenna?"

She didn't hear any voices with him, so she figured he was alone. "Any word from Elena?"

At the very least, talking to someone while she looked for the rest of her thesis notes would be beneficial to her state of mind. Times like this, she almost wished she'd inherited her sister's organizational skills.

"Still nothing. What about you? Is something wrong?"

"No, I just-"

Jenna cut herself off as she heard footsteps outside her door. Ignoring Stefan calling her, she glanced through the doorway.

"I'm at the house. I wanted to drab the notes that I left."

"Jenna, it's not safe for you there."

She was starting to see what he meant as she turned back to her search. Finding the folder she needed, she grabbed it and turned to leave. A sharp yelp escaped her as she nearly ran headlong into someone and her eyes widened in fear.

"Jenna? Jenna!" her phone screeched at her, but all she could do was stare at the person in front of her. It was almost surreal to think that the oldest vampire in history was currently borrowing her boyfriend's body.

"Klaus," she breathed, feeling her heart hammering in her chest as she backed up a few steps. "What do you want? Elena's not here."

"I know," he murmured, looking her over. Jenna suppressed a shiver as she backed up. "I guess they told you who I am?"

"Yeah. I'm up to speed."

If only she could get around him.

"Then I really don't need to waste time, do I?"

Hearing someone with completely different tone and inflection use Alaric's voice made her almost sick. "What do you want?" she repeated, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible.

"I have plans for you, Jenna," came the reply as Klaus took a few steps forward. She backed up further, eyes moving around to see how much room she had to move.

"Yeah, well, I'm not interested," she told him, far more confident-sounding than she felt.

"You don't need to be. You just need to-"

She cut him off by lunging for the bed, intending to climb over it and out the door. He caught her while she was still on it, grabbing her ankle and tripping her so she fell onto the mattress.

"-stay put," he finished, as though nothing at all had happened.

"She said she's not interested."

Jenna had never been so relieved to hear Stefan's voice. She didn't get a chance to see him before she felt Klaus' grasp on her ankle lift. She scrambled up so she could see Stefan holding Klaus at knifepoint against the wall.

"Go, Jenna!" Stefan commanded, not taking his eyes off Klaus.

Jenna wasn't sure she wanted to leave until she knew Alaric's body was safe. "Don't kill him, Stefan!" she pleaded. The last thing she wanted was to see her boyfriend dead on the floor of her room.

"I said go!" he yelled back.

She got a glimpse of his vampire mask and that was all the encouragement she needed. Jenna took off down the stairs and outside to her car. In all the shuffle, she'd dropped her thesis notes, but she no longer cared. Getting them back wasn't worth her life.

#

Jenna made it back to the boarding house in record time and soon enough she'd bolted inside and up the stairs to the room she'd been given while she stayed there. A minute later, she heard Stefan knocking on her door and she opened it slowly, not so eager to talk, but needing some measure of comfort about what had just happened.

"What did you do to him?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Tears pricked her eyes, but she tried to force them away. She didn't want to hear that Stefan had been forced to kill Alaric in her bedroom… and yet she had to know.

"Just knocked him out," Stefan answered, clearly looking Jenna over to be sure she was okay. "Are you all right? Do you need me to call Elena?"

Jenna shook her head. "No. She's got enough to deal with. I'll be fine."

"It's a shock, I know," Stefan murmured, searching her eyes in concern. "But if you need anything at all, please ask. We're all here to help each other. Even Damon."

Jenna offered a soft laugh and nodded, wiping at her eyes. "Thank you, Stefan. When Elena gets home, will you be sure to tell me?"

He inclined his head and moved back to the door, understanding her dismissal as the desire to be alone. "You bet."

Even with that assurance, Jenna didn't know how well everything was going to go. Who knew what Elena was up to? But maybe whatever she was planning would work and all this would be over. Jenna had to hope, because that was all she could do.

#

The fight downstairs much later caught Jenna's attention, but she didn't actually go anywhere until Stefan came up to tell her that Elena was back and Elijah had left. Even then, Jenna didn't really feel up to going anywhere yet, so she just sat upstairs with all of her thesis research scattered on various surfaces, unable to concentrate. A knock on her door snapped her from her thoughts and she finally stood, walking over to pull the door open.

"Jenna?" It was Elena, thankfully. "Stefan said I needed to talk to you." She frowned as Jenna stepped back to let her in. "What happened?"

Jenna shut the door on a sigh. "I ran into Ric today. Stefan had to get me out of that."

"Oh my God," Elena breathed, worry creasing her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jenna answered, trying for a brave smile. "It was just… strange to see him like that."

"I know, Jenna," Elena assured her, moving to give her aunt a hug. "But Klaus can't keep him like that forever."

Jenna didn't answer; her choked sob said enough. To see her boyfriend like that, completely different, had just about killed her. She didn't want to think of him like that forever. She _couldn't_.

"It'll be okay, Jenna," Elena whispered as they stood there. "It'll be okay."

Jenna had to hope she was right.


	2. The Last Day

Jenna's morning began early once more. After having cried herself to sleep the night before, her eyes were scratchy and inflamed. She felt groggy because of it, so it took her a lot longer to get ready for the day. By the time she actually made it downstairs, she could tell the others were already up and moving. She could hear Elena and Elijah talking - Elena had explained about him last night and Jenna was _still_ a little creeped out by what she'd learned - so she headed to meet them. She was passing through the front hallway when she heard the front door open. Turning, she expected to see Stefan and Damon, or maybe Jeremy, but what she saw as the door closed again frightened her beyond anything else.

Grabbing the crossbow on the wall nearby, she leveled it at Klaus as he strode nearer, accidentally loosing a bolt into the wall when he finally noticed her. He turned toward her, looking far less confident than the last time she'd seen him.

"Get out," she told him sharply, eyes blazing as her voice shook with emotion. How dare he come back after what he'd done?

"Jenna? Jenna!"

"Get. Out!" she yelled, more forcefully this time.

"Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay?" he coaxed her, lifting his hands into the air in surrender. "It's me!"

She'd believe that when she had a reason to.

"Stay away from me," she growled, trying to keep as much space between them as she could.

"What's going on?" Elena's voice asked.

Jenna didn't dare look behind her to see Elena, but her eyes momentarily flickered to Damon, who was coming up on her right.

The man who looked like Alaric tried again. "It's me, Elena, I swear, okay? He let me go. Klaus let me go."

"Prove it," Damon commanded with a wary look on his face. A tiny glimmer of hope bubbled up inside Jenna as she glanced at Damon again. Maybe there was yet a chance…

Alaric's hands dropped as he turned to Damon for a second, too. "Okay, uh…" Something seemed to occur to him and he looked back at Jenna. "First night you and I spent together-"

Oh, God, was he really going to use that as an example? At least she'd be able to confirm or deny it.

"-Jeremy walked in-"

"Okay!" she interrupted, trying to stop him before he got any further.

"-right when I was-"

"It's him!" Jenna declared, rolling her eyes in embarrassment and lowering the crossbow. Alaric gave her a look that clearly said, "See?"

"Why'd he let you go?" Stefan questioned, breaking up the awkward air around them.

"He wanted me to deliver a message," Alaric answered, glancing from Elena to Stefan… and then to Jenna. Whatever he wanted to say, Jenna wasn't sure she wanted to hear it. "The sacrifice happens tonight."

Jenna's heart squeezed again and she fought the lump in her throat as Stefan moved forward to take the crossbow from her. She let him deal with it, following Elena down the hallway.

"Jenna," Alaric called after her, his voice strained with emotion. She glanced behind her, expression a combination of fear and hesitance. For a moment, Damon caught her attention as he headed in the opposite direction, but then Alaric shifted his weight. She wanted to be able to trust him again, wanted to feel safe with him, but the reality was that she still thought of him as Klaus. He would have to prove himself a little more to get her to work around the fear.

Her expression changed to slightly apologetic as she turned and followed Elena and Elijah. She needed more time to adjust.

"Can I at least ask what happened?" Alaric questioned as everyone took places around the main room downstairs. Jenna settled on the couch opposite him, where she could see him and better judge how he was acting. Elena took a chair to Jenna's right, while Elijah stood behind her and Stefan beside.

"You don't know?" Stefan asked, glancing at him with mild confusion.

Alaric shook his head. "All I know is Klaus was using my body."

"So you don’t remember anything that happened?" Stefan clarified, crossing between the two couches to occupy the other side by Jenna. Jenna leaned her arms on her legs as she watched Alaric, desperate for any sign that her boyfriend was back and okay.

"No," Alaric answered, glancing up at Stefan. "It's like I blacked out and woke up three days later. Katherine was there."

Jenna glanced at her lap at the mention of Katherine. She'd been there to see that for herself and she was starting to regret going.

"She's under compulsion," Stefan replied. "Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."

Jenna shot Stefan a grateful look for leaving her out of that whole thing. She'd tell Alaric later about her involvement, not right now.

"Where is Damon?" Elena spoke up, glancing at Stefan.

"I saw him go upstairs," Jenna answered, finally sitting up a bit.

Elena stood and left the room, presumably to find out what Damon was up to.

"So, what else did I do?" Alaric asked, meeting Jenna's eyes as she sat back before he turned to Stefan.

Jenna was nervous about this part. Alaric wasn't going to like hearing what he'd done.

"Tried to kill Bonnie in front of Elena," Stefan responded. "That's why she and Jeremy aren't here. They're hiding out because Klaus thinks she's dead."

"Wow…" Alaric breathed, looking a bit unhappy at that news. "Guess I missed a lot."

Stefan and Jenna traded looks. He didn't even know the half of it and Jenna wasn't sure she wanted to break the news.

"And Klaus went after Jenna."

"What?"

The pain and worry in Alaric's eyes hurt Jenna deeply.

"It was my fault," she spoke up. "I… left some of my thesis notes at home when Stefan came to get me and thought I could run up, grab them, and get back." She shrugged, trying to pass it off as nothing important. "Klaus apparently had other ideas."

"We don't know why, but he was very interested in her," Stefan added on.

"When did this happen?" Alaric questioned, looking Jenna over with worried eyes.

"Yesterday," she answered. "But I'm fine, Ric. Stefan got me out safely."

"I had to knock you out, Alaric," Stefan admitted. "If you're feeling a little sore today, that's probably why."

"That would explain it," Alaric agreed, rubbing a hand over his face. Jenna figured he was in shock from everything they had just told him. She couldn't blame him; it was a lot to work through.

Alaric seemed about to say something else, but he stopped, frowning at Stefan. Jenna followed his gaze to where Stefan had frozen in place with a confused look on his face.

"Stefan?" she prompted, worry creeping into her expression and voice.

Stefan glanced at Elijah. "Damon," was his short answer before he sped off up the stairs, faster than Jenna's eyes could follow. She glanced at Alaric, noticing he was frowning at Elijah.

"If Damon's doing something stupid, someone has to run interference," Alaric muttered as he rose to his feet. "Welcome to a day with the Salvatores, Jenna."

She blinked up at him as he started hurrying for the stairs. A moment later, she followed. She didn't want to be left out.

Sounds of a fight greeted them as they ran upstairs and the first thing Jenna saw when she stopped in the doorway was the large wooden pole protruding from Stefan's stomach.

"What the hell's going on?" Alaric demanded, hurrying into the room to help.

"Get him out of here!" Elena yelled, from where she sat on the floor, holding Stefan upright.

"Oh my God," Jenna gasped, trying to hold herself together for Elena's sake. She knew a lot had happened lately and could happen again, but this was definitely far more than she'd expected to see.

She stayed by the door as Alaric attempted to push Damon away. The vampire shrugged him off viciously. Jenna tried to remain as far out of the way as possible, not knowing what was going to happen next. The last thing she wanted was to get caught in the middle of this.

"Uh, okay, Jenna?" Alaric began, gesturing towards Jenna as Damon slowly exited the room. "Downstairs in the basement are some blood bags. Go get them. Now. Go!"

It took a few seconds for the command to really get through to Jenna, but soon enough she made her way down the stairs and to the basement. She could hear Stefan's anguished cries haunting her all the way and she shivered violently as she hit the bottom of the stairs. The basement was a little off-putting due to size and coloration - it felt a great deal like a prison - but the big cooler in the corner was enough of a hint for her. Sure enough, it opened to reveal a whole stash of blood bags. Jenna didn't stop to think about what this meant; she just grabbed a few bags and started back up to the top floor.

By the time she returned, Stefan had stopped yelling out, much to Jenna's relief. After he'd downed the first blood bag, Elena and Alaric helped him up onto the bed, where he finished off a second one. At least his stomach was no longer a gaping open wound. Jenna could stand to look at him now without feeling sick to her stomach and she was beginning to calm down slowly. She stayed by Alaric's side, though, taking her cues from him and hoping they could have a little peace and quiet sometime soon.

Stefan tossed the second empty bag onto the floor and glanced up at the two of them. "Thank you… both of you."

"Yeah, well, we'll… we’ll be downstairs," Alaric answered, moving towards the door. Jenna nodded, glancing up at him and figuring he wanted to give Elena and Stefan some time alone. She fell into step beside Alaric as they started walking down the hallway, unable to fully process what to do next. Her head was still spinning from what had happened.

"I know it's… it's a lot to take in," Alaric murmured, finally breaking the tense silence between them. "The last few days have been rough for you."

Jenna thought that was the understatement of the century. She wasn't quite sure what to think or how to react anymore, and hadn't for the last week. Just being able to talk to Alaric again and know that he was really _Alaric_ was the small bright spot in an otherwise insane couple of days.

"Yeah," she answered after a while.

"I tried to protect you from all this, but I should've known you could handle it."

She hesitated, turning to face him with a worried expression. He had far more faith in her, especially after everything that had happened recently. "Can I?"

Alaric's eyes searched hers. "Well, you just did," he pointed out.

Jenna wasn't so sure she'd handled anything regarding these last couple of days properly, but the fact that he believed in her at all meant a lot and put her heart a little more at ease.

"Look, Jenna," he began again, still looking her in the eyes. She got the feeling he wanted to touch her cheek with his hand and honestly wouldn't have minded. "I know we have a lot to talk about, especially with Isobel."

"Hey."

She made the move for him, reaching up to rest her hand against his cheek as her eyes strayed down to his lips. She'd stopped blaming him for everything that was wrong when she'd wrapped her head around what he, Elena, and Stefan had told her that night in the kitchen… and again when she'd found out he was being possessed by Klaus. What she wanted now was time with him, time to sort things out between them and get things back the way they were.

"I'm glad you're okay," she told him honestly, feeling her heart breaking again. At least now she knew he wasn't lying to her anymore. "I should've said that already."

Her fingers splayed against his cheek and a relieved smile crossed her face. Even as scared and angry as she'd felt, she'd been more terrified that something would happen to him and she hadn't known what she would've done if she'd lost him.

They stayed that way for a mere half second longer before Jenna leaned up and kissed him. She'd forgiven him and now she just wanted the Alaric she remembered and loved back. Their kiss wasn't nearly long enough, but Jenna tried to put as much feeling into it as she could, to show him that she'd forgiven him. When she pushed back, he rested his forehead against hers and she took a deep breath. He was back and she was okay.

"Come on, Jenna," he murmured after they'd stood there for a while. "I think it's time we had that Isobel talk."

She nodded, turning her head up so she could look into his eyes again. "Okay."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders for a quick hug before he led the way downstairs to one of the parlor rooms, closing the door behind them. Jenna sat down on one end of the couch in the middle of the room and he took the other side, turning to face her.

"This isn't going to be easy on either of us," he started, "but it's something we should've talked about a long time ago."

She pursed her lips and nodded as he leaned over, resting his arms on his knees. Of course, talking about his dead vampire wife would be hard, but he was right: they needed to do this. There were things Jenna felt she needed to know about what had happened.

"The thing about Isobel that you have to know first, Jenna, is that… she wanted to become a vampire," Alaric continued, watching her for a reaction. "She spent years researching the supernatural world so she could enter it and become part of it. That was her choice. This-"

He reached out to take her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles. She glanced down at their joined hands for a moment and then back up into his eyes. It was probably smart of him to start with this, reassure her before the topic got too heated.

"This is my choice. The woman I married is long gone. Maybe she never existed; I don’t know. What I do know is that I love you. You are my choice, Jenna Sommers, and no matter what we talk about or what happens later, that will never change, okay?"

Jenna nodded, trying to hold in her tears as she gave his hand a squeeze. His words meant so much to her. She wasn't sure she could ever tell him how much.

Alaric took a deep breath and shifted his weight where he sat, still holding her hand. "I barely even know where to start with this," he admitted, shaking his head in disbelief. "I've stopped wondering when Isobel decided life wasn't good enough; that's no longer important. What matters is that I wasn't lying at first, when I said I didn't know what had happened to her. She disappeared one night and I didn't see her until two years later, when she came here to threaten Elena. She came back again - I actually think she's the reason I got caught by Klaus' witch - but I don't know if she's still around or not. She's a different person, Jenna, on par with Katherine."

Jenna squeezed his hand again, sliding a little closer on the couch so they weren't quite so far apart. She wanted him to know that she would support him through whatever he wanted to say.

"That's why I wouldn't let you near her when she came to the house that night," he continued with a pained expression that sent fear coursing through Jenna. "I didn't want to give her any other reason to hurt you."

Jenna didn't know what else to say, so she just touched his arm with her free hand. This was all a bit overwhelming, though it did help her a little with her worry about being good enough for him.

"I hope you never actually meet her, Jenna. If something happened to you because of what she's done-"

"Hey," she cut him off softly, looking into his eyes and willing him to believe her, "we're both fine. Everything's going to be fine after tonight." Whatever happened that night, they would get through it and things would be okay afterward.

He nodded, tightening his grip on her hand. "Jenna… did they tell you about all the rings?"

A frown creased Jenna's face and she shook her head, wondering where the topic change had come from. "Does this have to do with why you aren't wearing your ring anymore?"

Alaric nodded. "Yes," he answered. "Stefan, Damon, and Caroline have Daywalking rings, so they can, like the name says, walk in the day. But they aren't the only ones who have special supernatural rings. A long time ago, back around the 1860's, the Gilbert family was given two other rings. These made their way down the line to John and Grayson Gilbert. John ended up giving his to Isobel when they were young and he got Grayson's after his death. I guess when he met Katherine and she cut off his fingers, the ring got left somewhere and somehow transferred ownership to Jeremy, where it should have been in the first place."

"Wait," Jenna interjected, trying to wrap her head around what she was being told. "Katherine cut off John's fingers?"

"Yeah, that was her. She was pretending to be Elena when she came home that night and as soon as you were out of the way, she stabbed John. I think she probably would have tried to finish the job properly, but then Elena came home, so she had to leave."

Jenna frowned. "So… the person I saw on the porch with Damon…?"

"That was Katherine," Alaric confirmed.

"Well, that explains a lot," Jenna murmured. Like why Elena had been making out with Damon on her front porch, for starters. "So, what about the other ring? Does Isobel still have it? And what do they do?"

"Isobel gave John's to me when we were married," he answered, gazing steadily into her eyes. "When he got back into town this most recent time, he demanded that I give it back. That's why he dropped all those hints about Isobel to you. He wanted to get between us, thinking if your trust in me was shaken, I'd give him his ring back." He shrugged helplessly and sat back against the cushions. "And he was right."

"That's why he said all of that to me?" Jenna wished she could say she was surprised, but she wasn't. John was just selfish enough to do something like that.

Alaric nodded in response.

"So, what do those rings even do?"

The way Alaric looked at her after her question made her unsure she really wanted to know anymore.

"They have a sort of resurrecting capability," he explained. "If a human dies of supernatural causes while wearing it, they'll come back to life."

It took her a minute to process what he meant. "Resurrection?" she gaped, not fully willing to accept what that meant.

Alaric nodded, taking both of her hands in his. "They work, too. John and I have unintentionally tested both of them."

Jenna had thought, by this point, she'd be prepared to hear anything, but this was a shock beyond anything else she'd heard. While Klaus had been possessing Alaric's body, she'd been so afraid something would happen to kill Alaric and now she found out that none of it mattered anyway; he'd already died before. Her breath caught painfully in her chest as she looked at him as though she'd never seen him before.

"That night I told you I'd fallen asleep grading papers? A werewolf stabbed me here and I died on the floor in the entryway."

Jenna gave a choked intake of breath, squeezing her eyes shut to block out the emotions. A moment later, Alaric had scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her, holding her protectively.

"You don't know how hard it was to lie to you about all of this. I'm glad I don't have to anymore."

On some level, she was, too, but she wasn't really sure this was a fair trade. Instead of answering verbally, she just buried her head against his shoulder and held onto him.

"It's okay, Jenna," he assured her softly, pressing them tightly together. "I'm perfectly fine. Promise."

She just nodded, though it ended up as more of a nuzzle at his neck than anything else and she could feel him react to her touch. Maybe a distraction was exactly what they needed. Everyone knew what was happening tonight and the likelihood of Alaric going with them to protect Elena was high. Jenna would just have to hope they all came back in one piece. She didn't know what she'd do otherwise.


	3. The Sun Also Rises

After leaving Stefan, Elena would be turned over to Greta so Klaus could get ready for the ritual. Isobel was waiting for them to arrive, hanging out by the dark treeline. She could hear the two humans walking down the path. Soon. It would all be over soon. Steeling herself, Isobel started her own slow descent into the Quarry.

“I can’t see anything!” Elena blurted out, glaring at the back of Greta’s head as she walked. The witch stopped, letting Elena pass her. Fire sprang up along the path they’d just come from and the clearing in front of them, startling Elena so much she jumped. She was obviously nervous. If Isobel were to be honest with herself, she couldn’t blame Elena. They all had reason to be afraid.

“She’ll be here soon,” Greta commented, grabbing Elena’s arm and pulling her further into the clearing.

“Who?” Elena asked, yanking her arm out of the witch’s grasp.

“Me.”

Isobel finally announced her presence with a single word, walking down the side of a hill to Elena’s right. This was her last-ditch effort to ensure that her daughter would be able to live the best life she could after all this was over. Elena just didn’t know it yet.

“Isobel. What are you doing here?”

Isobel didn’t answer.

“What are you doing here?” Elena demanded. “Answer me!”

Isobel rolled her eyes. She should have known Elena would not be silenced. “Klaus kept me as one of the vampires for the ritual tonight,” she explained, as though Elena were the dumbest person on earth. “Katherine tried to call Jenna on Klaus’ orders, but Jenna didn’t fall for it. So, I offered myself. My death will hurt both you and Katherine.” She paused for effect, pulling all the emotion she had left from her humanity back into her eyes and voice. “Far more than Jenna’s would.”

The feeling in Elena’s eyes was difficult to discern, but Isobel felt certain there was confusion. Her death would mean nothing to either Elena or Katherine. It would only mean Jenna’s life would be spared. And maybe Ric and Elena could have some semblance of a real life, the kind they should have had from the beginning.

“I don’t understand,” Elena finally choked out. “Why are you doing this?”

Isobel shrugged. “For you… and for Ric,” she answered honestly. “You deserve to have normal lives, people to protect and love you. I can’t be a part of your lives anymore. I gave that chance up years ago. You need Jenna. You both do.”

And on some level, buried deep in her humanity, she was jealous of Jenna Sommers, jealous that this woman could be so normal, could have the daughter and husband Isobel had - in most ways - been forced to give up. But that was the lot she’d been cast, the hand she’d chosen. And this was her reward.

She could see Elena’s mouth working as the girl struggled to find words to respond to what she’d just heard. Eventually, Elena had to give it up as Greta separated them by fire circles, imprisoning them until the time was right. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait long. Greta brought the werewolf soon after, setting her up in another circle nearby. She was crying out in pain, though Isobel ignored her easily. Elena attempted to reason with Greta, but it didn’t work. The witch was set on her path and nothing short of death would push her off it.

Klaus’ appearance a moment later brought Isobel’s chin up defiantly. He may be the one to kill her, but her death would still be on her terms. Better for her to die like this than live with yet another thing to block out every day of her life. This was what she wanted and he would never know it.

The werewolf’s death was clean and easy. Once that was complete, Isobel turned towards Klaus, ready to do what she had to do.

“Isobel,” he murmured, holding out a hand to her. “Shall we?”

Isobel’s chin rose another half-inch as the fire died out around her. She took a few steps towards him before turning back to her daughter one last time.

“I did love you, Elena, more than I could show you. I am sorry… I was such a disappointment to you.”

Elena’s choked sob was enough for her and she closed her eyes to let Klaus do what he wanted with her. Her dying thoughts were that at least, if Elena survived this, she and Ric would be able to lead better lives with someone who was capable of loving them more than she ever could.


End file.
